


i look for you (in the dark)

by watermelonp00fs



Series: like diamonds in the sky [1]
Category: Daredevil (TV), The Punisher (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M, Romance, post season 1 spoiler
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-20
Updated: 2017-11-20
Packaged: 2019-02-04 17:34:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 911
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12775998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/watermelonp00fs/pseuds/watermelonp00fs
Summary: “I went to the river yesterday.” She looked so tired and Frank wanted to pull her into his arms again. He didn’t, though. “Was hoping you’d be there — but then I realised that every time I saw you, I never knew if I was gonna see you again.”“Yeah. Sorry about that. ” A beat went by, and — “I’m here now, though.”And I’m here to stay, Karen,Frank wanted to say. And he wanted that to be true so, so badly — but it wasn’t a promise he was ready to make.





	i look for you (in the dark)

**Author's Note:**

> Marathoned the Punisher in two days. Spoilers alert! The lack of Karen in the last episode made me sad, but this means I get to write my own headcanon - so it's not too bad. I am obsessed with Frank/Karen right now. Oh and I was so sad they didn't kiss in that elevator. The tension was so thick I choked on it.

Bill.

Billy Russo.

Dragging Bill’s face across jagged glass - his screams, the sick, twisted sound of his flesh being torn apart against the mirror. Pulling Bill back only to drive him harder into broken shards because he deserved it ten times over —

_Not so pretty now, are you?_

_Oh, Frankie Boy —_

And Frank found himself in bed, drenched pillow and twisted sheets. Thunder roared outside as rain pelted against the murky window. Three days since the carousel, since Frank cut up Bill Russo’s perfect face and charged him through a mirror again and again — and counting. 

_2:03 AM —_ the dull, red glow of the clock next to him read. It hadn’t even been an hour since he fell asleep. Didn’t seem like he would get much shut-eye for the rest of the night, with Bill taunting him. Fucking Bill Russo.

So Frank got out of bed, grabbed his car keys and walked into the grey haze of rain.

The pedal hit the floor, the roar of the engine drowned out by the torrential downpour.

Two raps on the door. Light and quick.

A few seconds passed. Frank tried not to shift on his feet too much as he glanced at the peep hole, waiting. For a moment, it occured to Frank that she might've already gone to bed when the door finally opened.

“Frank?” 

Karen braced herself against the frame, blonde hair falling into her face. Frank fought the urge to brush it behind her ear. He could see piles of articles and the dim glow of her laptop on the coffee table past her shoulders.

Frank rubbed the back of his neck, words lost on his lips before he schooled himself into saying something, anything. “Hey, uh, hope I didn’t catch you at a bad time —”

Karen threw herself at him, arms around his neck. He put his arms around her, remembering the scent of her hair, her skin. It wasn’t too long ago where he’d had to leave her in that elevator after putting a gun to her head, but it felt like a lifetime ago, somehow. 

His hold tightened. “Hey, you.”

A few seconds ticked by, and Frank didn’t want to be the first to let go. So he waited until Karen pulled away and looked at him with those bright blue eyes — tired eyes, but bright nonetheless. “How are you, really?”

A smile tugged at his lips. “Better.” And Frank never lied to Karen, not ever.

She led him into the living room, collecting the piles of articles and setting them aside. Frank took a corner of the couch and she sat next to him, knees almost touching.

Karen broke the silence. “I went to the river yesterday.” She looked down at her hands that were folded in her lap. The planes of her face were lit by the yellow glow of the lamp beside them. She looked so tired and Frank wanted to pull her into his arms again. He didn’t, though. “Was hoping you’d be there — but then I realised that every time I saw you, I never knew if I was gonna see you again.”

“Yeah. Sorry about that. ” A beat went by, and — “I’m here now, though.” _And I’m here to stay, Karen,_ Frank wanted to say. And he wanted that to be true so, so badly — but it wasn’t a promise he was ready to make.

Karen scooted closer and leaned her head on his shoulder. Frank closed his eyes and basked in the silence between them. Karen didn’t ask about Bill, Rawlins or any of the ugly shit that went down in the past week and Frank was grateful for that. He would tell her in time, but for now, this was enough.

Lightning flashed outside her window, followed by the familiar roar of thunder and Frank realised how late it was — “I should go.”

Karen’s fingers wrapped around his. “Stay.”

The word hung heavy in the air. They both knew what it meant — a thought that Frank hadn’t dared to entertain for more than a second because if he lost her he wouldn’t even know where to _begin_ to make it right —

“Karen —” _I break everything, everyone I touch._ “I’m not good for you."

She pulled her hand away and stood up, straightening up her dress. Pieces of hair fell into her face and she tucked it impatiently behind her ear. “You’re right, Frank — it’s late. What was I thinking?” She forced out a laugh that was tinged with a kind of sadness that hurt him. “I’ll see you out, then.”

 So he walked out, and into the rain — heavier than ever — and sat in his car. He watched the light in Karen’s apartment turn off and —

He got out of the car.

Two bangs on the door. Loud and heavy. 

Karen said nothing when she saw him again, eyes hopeful — but wary. The apartment was dark behind her, but there was a perpetual brightness in her eyes that lit his world and —

He closed the door behind him. They were engulfed in pitch black except for the dull glow of the street light that filtered into the window. One breath, two breaths — and Frank reached for Karen, his hand behind her head — and kissed her. Lips parted. Shared inhales, exhales —

 “Karen,” he breathed, took in everything she meant to him and kissed her with it.

 She pulled away slowly, and led him to her bed in the dark.


End file.
